Hair drier



April 16, 1935. R. BISHINGER HAIR DRIER Filed Sept. 2, 1932 IN VENTOR. Dob err B/Jb/Qy c B Y M We 9 M I ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 16, 1935 usirso STATES HAIR DRIER Robert Bishinger, Allison Park, Pa.

Application September 2, 1932, Serial No. 631,512

6 Claims.

10 because the heat of such air is not absorbed by moisture as is the when the heated air comes in contact with the undried hair. So far as is known, hair drierscr" the prior art have been or" the type which operate to supply heated air continuously to all potions of the head of the person whose hair is being dried until all of the hair is completely dried.

In accordance with the present invention, I provide a hair drier in which heated air is uniformly distributed to all portions or" the head of a person but such distribution may be regulated by means for selectively controlling the flow of heated air to various portions of the head. By this means I am enabled to relieve the person whose hair is being treated from the discomforts that might be experienced by reason of the application of comparatively highly heated air to portions 0. the head upon the hair which has been dried.

In general, the hair drier comprises a casing having sections that are movable outwardly from their operative positions. The outward movement of one of the sections not only perm ts access of the atmosphere to the corresponding per tion of the head but it also operates to stop the flow of heated air to that portion of the casing constituted bythe section that has been moved to an outer position.

The foregoing and other operating and constructional features and advantages will be shown and described in detail in connection with the accompanying drawing in which,

Figure l is a view, partially in elevation and partially in section of a hair drier constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the apparatusof'Fig. 1', certain of the movable sections being shown in their outer positions.

, Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the sectional casing of Figs. 1 and Z'With'lDhG sections in their closed or operative positions.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the valvemechanism for controlling the flow of heated air.

Fig. 5 isa view illustratin a modified form of segmental sections for the casing of the hair drier.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a hair drier constructed in accordance with my invention comprises an upright stand 8 having a stationary section 2 and a vertically adjustable section 3 upon which is mounted the drier proper. The latter consists of a sheet metal inner casing 5 of substantially cylindrical shape and that is' provided at its forward end with an electrical heating element ii of open type that is mounted upon a convex deflecting member l. The latter separates the casing 5 from a forward sectional casing 8 for partially enclosing the head of the person whose hair is being treated.

The sectional casing 8 comprises three sections e, to and ii that are of segmental form and" are hinged at the rearmost portions as indicated at 25 in Figs. 1 and 2. The casing 8 comprises also two relatively short hinged sections l4 and it for enclosing the lower side portions of the head. lhese sections are also hinged for outward movement upon hinges l3.

'ilie hinges for the several sections are arranged on five sides of a hexagonal figure in order that the sections may move substantially radially outwardly from their operative positions. The several sections may be of metal or of suitable phenolic compositions or of other heat-insulating materials.

Five outwardly movable sections have been shown and described as comprising the casing'for' enclosing the head of theperson but this num'- ber may be varied as desired as may be thesize' or" the sections. The arrangement of the angles at which the'hinges i3are'located will, of course, be varied in accordance with the number of sections to be supported thereby;

An outer casing ll surrounds the inner'casing 5 and is spaced therefrom at the'top thereof to provide a passageway for incoming airthat is drawn through the passageway by a fan i 8 at the outer end of the casing 5'. The fan is driven by a suitable electric motor is that is mounted by means of suitable rubber cushions upon a yoke 28 secured to the upper portion of the movable section 3 of the stand l. The casing ll is'also provided with openings 2! adjacent the motor l9 for'th'e' admission of air in addition to that flowing. through the passageway between the casings I1 and 5'.

Each of the segmental sections 9, land H is provided along its side edgeswith inwardly projecting flanges 22, which extend adjacent to the head of theperscn and-tend to confine air passing from one end of the section to the other in a substantially separate current of air, independent to a certain extent, of the currents of air passing beneath the other sections. The movable sections 54 and i5 are similarly provided with inwardly extending flanges 23 along their upper sides only.

Each of the sections 9, iii and ii is provided at its front end with a curved deflector 2 for preventing the passage of heated air directly downward upon the face of the person. The sections 5 {l and it are similarly provided with curved deflectors 25 which serve a similar purpose with respect to heated air being projected against the face of the person.

Air is arranged to pass from the inner casing 5.

to the sectional casing 8 through an approximately hexagonal passageway between the convex de-' flector l and the outer periphery of the rear portion of the sectional casing B. Each of the movable sections 9, it, ii, i i and i5 is provided with a member 28 extending beyond its hinge it which operates as a shutter or valve to close the corresponding portion of this passageway when the section has been moved to its outermost position.

The movable sections 9, l9 and it have been shown and described as provided with inwardly extending flanges 22 which are substantially at right angles to the outer portion of the sections. The latter may, for example, take the form of the sections 28, 29 and 36 illustrated in Fig. 5. These sections are concave, the inner peripheries of the sections having substantially the same shape and being located in substantially similar positions as the inner edges of the flanges 22 of the sections previously described. The functions of the sections 28, 29 and 3E) are substantially identical with those of the preferred form of my invention but their construction by means of dies maybe somewhat simpler .than that of the pre-;

ferred form by reason of the angles between the flanges 22 on the sides of the several sections 9, l0 and H.

In the operation of my improved drier it may be assumed that the person whose hair is to be treated is seated in any usual or suitable manner and that the height of the stand i has been suitably adjusted in order that the drier proper may occupy substantially the position indicated in Fig. l with respectto the head of the person.

It may be assumed also that the drier has been moved to a position in which the head of the person may engage a heat-insulating member 32 which acts as a stop or rest and prevents any possibility of engagement with any of the heated portions of the drier.

The motor is and the electric heater 6 may be placed in operation by one of the several switches 33 mounted uponthe yoke 28 whereupon air is drawn in between the casings l1 and 5 and through the openings 2! and forced by the fan I8 through the open electric heating element 6 whereupon the air is deflected by the deflector 5 through the openings therearound into the casing 8.

The side flanges of the several sections of the casing 8 cause the air to flow in substantially parallel paths to the forward portion of the casing 8 whereupon the air engages the deflectors 2d and 25 to be returned toward the rear of a head. It will be understood, however, that while the heated moist air is deflected from the face it cannot be returned to its source but it passes out gradually from beneath the casing and a portion of it may also leak between the several sections.

Disposal of the moist heated air that has been in contact with the hair being dried may also be facilitated by providing the upper portions of the forward ends of the segments 9, it and H with small apertures or louvres The number of openings or louvres 3d may be such as desired to permit the escape of air therefrom.

It is usually the case that the hair on the back of the head may require the application of more heated air than other portions of the head in order that the drying :nay be accomplished in substantially the same length of time. In order 'to equalize the time of heating for the various portions of the head, I provide apertures 35 through the deflector i to insure a continuous application of heated air to the back portion of the head. A rotatable shutter 36 may be employed to control the apertures 3%.

As the drying operation proceeds it will usually result that the hair beneath one of the movable sections is dried before the hair under other sections is completely dried. In such'case, one or more of the sections Q, E9 or i l or side sections i and 55, as the case may be, are movable about their respective pivots E3 to their outermost positions in which the respective sections are shown in Fig. 2.

When the sections are moved to their outermost positions atmospheric air has access to the corresponding portion of the head of the person and at the same time the projection 26 operates as a valve to stop the flow of air from the heator b to that particular section. Lateral flow of air is restricted by reason of the provision of flanges along the sides of the movable sections. The opening of one or more of the latter does not materially effect the normal operation of the drier because the currents of air under the re- .i

maining sections are substantially retained by their flanges. However, when one or more secions are opened additional air is supplied to the closedsections to correspondingly accelerate the operation.

The drier of rnyinvention possesses the advantages that'heated air may be selectively applied to desired portions of the head of the person whose hair being treated and the latter is relieved from the discomfort otherwise attendant upon the application of heated air to a'portion of the head upon which the hair has already been dried. The direct flow of heated moist air upon the face of the person is also prevented.

The arrangement whereby the incoming air flows between the inner and the outer casings serves to preheat the incoming air and to also increase the efficiency of the apparatus by preventing radiation from the relatively hot inner casing. The provision of a conical deflector serves to uniformly distribute the heated air to the various portions of the casing for enclosing the head and thus insures uniform operation of the drier.

The mountin of the motor directly upon the stand with rubber cushions therebetween supports'the weight of the motor upon relatively solid structure and insures that vibration of the motor is not transmitted to the'drier.

The insulated member for engaging the head of the person and preventing contact with any of the heated portions of the drier is a safety device, the value of which will be obvious.

The foregoing and other advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art of the con struction and operation of hair treating devices.

I claim:

1. A hair drier comprising a casing for partially enclosing the head of a person whose hair is to be dried, and means for circulating a current of heated air in the casing from the rear to the front thereof, said casing being formed from a plurality of single-wall baffle-like sections spaced from the head and normally disposed edge to edge to form a substantially continuous shield confining said current of heated air therein to a path substantially parallel to the scalp, and each of said sections being independently hinged at its rear end for movement away from the head.

2. A hair drier comprising a casing for partially enclosing the head of a person whose hair is to be dried, and means for circulating a current of heated air in the casing from the rear to the front thereof, said casing being formed from a plurality of single-wall battle-like sections spaced from the head and normally disposed edge to edge to form a substantially continuous shield confining said current of heated air therein to a path substantially parallel to the scalp, and each of said sections being independently hinged at its rear end for movement away from the head and being shaped for directing a portion of the heated air over the head in a path independent of the flow of the remaining heated air.

3. A hair drier comprising a casing for partially enclosing the head of a person whose hair is to be dried, and means for circulating a current of heated air in the casing from the rear to the front thereof, said casing being formed from a plurality of single-wall bafile-like sections spaced from the head and normally disposed edge to edge to form a substantially continuous shield confining said current of heated air therein to a path substantially parallel to the scalp, and each of said sections being independently hinged at its rear end for movement away from the head and having inwardly projecting side flanges extending from front to rear for confining a portion of the air current to that section.

4. A hair drier comprising a casing for partially enclosing the head of a person whose hair is to be dried, and means for circulating a ourrent of heated air in the casing from the rear to the front thereof, said casing being formed from a plurality of single-wall baflie-like sections spaced from the head and normally disposed edge to edge to form a substantially continuous shield confining said current of heated air therein to a path substantially parallel to the scalp, and each of said sections being independently hinged at its rear end for movement away from the head and being provided at its front end with a deflecting portion for turning the current of air back toward the hair and away from the face.

5. A hair drier comprising a casing for partially enclosing the head of a person whose hair is to be dried and having an air inlet at its rear, and means for circulating a current of heated air through said opening from the rear to the front of the casing, said casing being formed from a plurality of single-wall baiile-like spaced from the head and normally disposed edge to edge to form a substantially continuous shield confining said current of heated air therein to a path substantially parallel to the scalp, and each of said sections being independently hinged at its rear end for movement away from the head and being provided with means for controlling the flow of air through an adjacent portion of said inlet in accordance with the position of that section.

6. A hair drier comprising a casing for partially enclosing the head of a person whose hair is to be dried and having an air inlet at its rear, and means for circulating a current of heated air through said opening from the rear to the front :1"

of the casing, said casing being formed from a plurality of single-wall bafiie-like sections spaced from the head and normally disposed edge to edge to form a substantially continuous shield confining said current of heated air therein to a path substantially parallel to the scalp, and each of said sections being independently hinged at its rear end for movement away from the head, and carrying a member which closes an adjacent portion of said air inlet when said section is in its outer position.

ROBERT BISHINGER.

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